Process of preparing phenolic condensation products.



. I have disclosed a process of formin UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES P. A. MOCOY, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TOWESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0FPENNSYLVANIA.

PROPlESB OP PREPARING. PHENOLIG CONDENSATION PRODUCTS.

Specification of. letters Patent.

Patented Jan. :15, 1918.

R0 Drawing. Application filed February 5, 1914, Serial ll'o. 816,773.Renewed November 80, 1817. Serial no. 204,784.

To all whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, JAMES P. A. McCoY, a subject'of the King of GreatBritain, and a resident of Wilkinsbur ,in the county of Allegheny andState of ennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement inProcesses of Preparing Phenolic Condensation Products, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to the preparation of resinous condensationproducts by reaction between phenolic substances and aldehydes.

One object of my invention is to simplifdY the process of preparingcondensation pro ucts of the character indicated, and to effectimportanteconomies in their manufacture.

Another object of my invention is to utilize certain factory wastesubstances in the production of valuable resinous products.

My present invention is an improvement over the process which I havedescribed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 755,799,filed March- 20,1913, in which condensation products from phenols analdelhydes with the use of carbon dioxid as a condensing agent. 1

According to my present yde during one maldeh de. 1 may efiect thereduction of the car on dioxid by treating it with a metallie hydridsudh' a palladium hydrid thou h-my invention is 'not restricted to thuse 0 this substance, since any rea nt that is ca able of reducingcarbon dioxid to formal ehyde may be employed. This partial reduction 5in a gaseous mixture of carbon dioxid andformaldehyde and any suitablephenolic or cresylic substance 18 then treated with this mixture, eitherwith or without the application of heat and ressum. The carbon dioxidacts as a con ensing agent, and it is itself absorbed in the resultingresinous-mass, so that my product contains little or no free condensingt. This fact renders my resinoustpard iic ts flysuperior to the productst have invention, I dis-. pense with the use of aldehylde as a startingprocess consists in partly reducinga the of The metallic hydrid effectsthe reduction of the carbon dioxid to formaldehyde, and the supply ofcarbon dioxid should be so regulated that only a part of the carbondioxid is so reduced during the passage of the gases through thetreating vessel,

whereby a mixture of carbon dioxid and formaldehyde is evolved, which ispassed directly into a second vessel containing commercial phenol,cresol, or other suitable phenolic substance.

The end point of the reaction which takes place in the second treatingvessel is indicated by a marked increase in the viscosity ofv theliquid. The period during which the reaction is continued is alsodetermined by the character of the final roduct that is desired, sinceeither fusi le or infusible roducts may be produced by varyin the engthof the reaction period. The pro ucts become more and more infusible asthe reaction continues. When a highly infusible product is desired, anda sampleeolidifies on heating,'the supply of carbon dioxid andformaldehyde may be out 01f. Further treatment with the gaseous mixturewill,

,as palladium' hydrid, suspended in water.

however, cause no damage to the product,

but will only waste the The condensreaction maybe hastened by heatingthe v1 in which the reaction takes p ace. No special degree oftemperature is essential, however, unless aparticularly rapidcondensation is desired. g

The subse uent treatment of the resulting resinous pr uctsforms no partof my present invention. It. maybe stated, however,

that these products may be converted from their initial liquid form intoa semi-solid and finally into a solid conditionby simply permitt' themto stand in contact w a the air, eir solidification is acceleratedlbythsubjecting wheat or pressureor The initial stage of my process, inwhich since the flue gases, steam and iron frag ments, which are theonly other reagents employed, are easily obtainable in manufacturingestablishments at little or no expense.

Many variations in the process which I have described may be devised bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and intent ofmy invention, which is to be limited, therefore, only by the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A rocess of preparin resinous products whlch comprises artia lyreducing carbon dioxid to formaldehyde and treating a phenolic substancewith the partially reuced gas. I

2. A process of preparing resinous products which comprises reactm uponcarbon dioxid with a metallic-hydrifi until partial reduction of thecarbon dioxid is effected and treating a phenolic substance with aproduct a phenolic substance to form condensation products, and treatinga phenolic substance with the resultin mixture.

6. A process 0 preparing resinous products which comprises treating aphenolic substance with a condensing agent mixed with a reductionproduct of such condensing agent which reduction product is capable ofreacting with the said phenolic substance to form a resinouscondensation product.

In testimony whereof, .I have hereunto subscribed my name this 2nd dayof Feb.,

JAMES P. A. -McCOY.

Witnesses:

B. B. Hmns, M. C. Mnnz.

